My KYOTO Itinerary: Hits & Misses

What I did on my trip to Kyoto - highlights, and what I'd do differently if I went back. Plus tips on where to stay and how to get around.

Kyoto is the old capital of Japan. It's full of historic buidings, picturesque streets, temples, shrines and beautiful Japanese gardens. Here's how I spent 4 nights in Kyoto - I'll talk you through my itinerary, the hits, misses, highlights and where I'd go if I went back. Including must-see major sights like Kinkakuji (the golden temple), Fushimi Inari Shrine, southern Higashiyama, Kiyomizudera, Gion (the geisha district), the bamboo forest at Arashiyama and day trips to Hiroshima and Miyajima. At the end there's advice about where to stay and how to get around on the trains, subway, bike and buses, and where's walkable in Kyoto.

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[o.c_]

Very helpful, short but with a lot of usefull information. I like itinerarys which seem duable :)

[philipbaker]

We stayed 5 nights in Kyoto on our second visit to Japan. Mount Hiei and the Garden Museum are well worth a visit. Steep and panoramic cable car up the mountain. We stayed at Sanjo Ogawa which is a small block of self contained rooms right in the heart of Kyoto, a 10 minute walk from Karasuma Oike Station. It was perfect as each room has ist own washing machine and the bathroom doubles as a drying room, it was good to wash our clothes midway through our 3 week stay in Japan!

[etherdog]

Amy, I appreciate your candid comments, and the emphasis on planning to do too much in a short time. I think most people who visit Japan make it a priority in their lives to return.

[johnhaines]

I've walked along the Philosopher's Path twice now. Starts near the Silver Temple and passes several other temples and shrines so allow for detours. Quality souvenirs and some places to eat along the way. In October it wasn't busy, at cherry blossom time it's beautiful and very busy.
A general rule at cherry blossom time, there and elsewhere, is that you don't so much photograph the trees as photograph people photographing the trees. There are some smaller gardens and temples which are less crowded.
Sanjusangen-do is amazing. Not much to look at outside, inside there are over 1000 wooden statues. It's like a football terrace full of statues!

[nxhb]

Myself and my husband have decided as our holidays this year have been cancelled our treat to ourselves once things are stable again we are booking Tokyo the moment we're all safe again. Grabbing a book from the Kickstarter ASAP to start making a plan.

[Yahriel]

10:35 OH that is so cool! Must be really relaxing, too, being right ON the water. Kawadoko, huh? I need to do that!

[mmandeel]

Thank you very much, great video, well organised

[torakwarius]

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful travel tips and itinerary. I’m going to Japan at the end of May to see family and friends, and excited is an understatement. I haven’t been there since I was a child with my late mother, and your videos are always so helpful. I’ll be staying three nights in Kyoto at a ryokan, and I can’t wait to explore this beautiful city. The floor with all the ramen shops is a bonus!

[Astranth]

I've recently been to Kyoto and we have decided to do one day just on the west side with Arashiyama and the surroundings there.
We did not want to overdo it and prefered to take in a few things thouroughly instead of rushing things.
We've been to Tenryu-ji, the Bamboo Forest and Jojakko-Ji. And a few smaller shrines along the way. Bamboo Forest was crowded, but in my opinion still worth the visit, just seeing the huge bamboo trees is pretty cool. Tenryu-ji is on the way and has a pretty nice garden, so it's easy to visit that one as well.

I highly recommend Jojakko-Ji tho, a little bit north of the Bamboo Forest and it has been nearly void of people. I think we were less than 15 visitors on the grounds overall - and the grounds weren't small, we even got a small leaflet with a few infos of the different areas and things there - in English!
Anyways, it was beautiful, it had a lot of things and even a really nice view of the city, since it was built on a hill.

[IndianInJapan]

Thank you for such an amazing video! BTW, What was the name of veg ramen restaurant? 6:25

[rossb]

Uji is on the same train line as Nara when you travel from Kyoto, so it's really easy to stop off there for a little while on your way to Nara. It's a bit of a long day, but it worked well for me.

[RuRu]

I love your video! So informative and helpful, thank you amy!!

[DAG]

This years Japan holiday is booked for September ( hopefully ) and I plan on visiting Kyoto for the first time. Great video as always.

[samanthasmith]

My favorite temple in Kyoto (so far) is Ginkaku-ji. It radiates peace, and the grounds are absolutely beautiful. If you go right when it opens, the crowds aren't too bad either. It also makes for a good place to start walking the Philosopher's Path. Also, I think you would enjoy Nara! The deer are really fun, and the great Buddha is an awesome sight for sure.

[ilanitavi]

Your videos are very helpful, thank you!

[samarthagarwal]

Your video series is totally awesome and informative. It made me one step closer to achieve my dream of going to Japan.(Arigato gozaimas)

[Leidnix]

Had to cancel my trip in April and hope to get there in November instead. Appreciate the travel tips. And hey on the plus side i can get your travel guide in time for my trip now XD.

[ChayatsujiKimono]

Love the video! So helpful as my boyfriend and I have been planning our trip to Japan for this autumn or next spring (depending on COVID-19 as well as the rescheduling of the Olympic games).

I would like to add that Gion (Kobu) is not THE Geisha district of Kyoto. In total there are 5 of them but Gion (Kobu) is the biggest and most known of all. The others are Gion (Higashi), Miyagawacho, Kamishichiken and Pontocho. Kamishichiken is way up north-west next to Kitano Tenmangu shrine but all the other four are in very close proximity of eachother :)

[johannakcrafts]

For me the Kyoto highlight was Kenninji temple. You actually get to see several different rooms and the Japanese rock garden is beautiful. I would also recommend visiting the less touristy sights. I went to Higashi-Honganji temple in the middle of the day and there was just a handful of people. That was the real "zen" moment of my trip.

[ydalangin]

So happy I stumbled upon your videos! I really want to buy your book but I’m from PH and the shipping fee is quite expensive 😢